Kunoichi: Wisdom
by broken time
Summary: Time will heal her wounds, but it is those very wounds that give her strength. Strength to surpass fear, and strength to overcome weakness...


**Disclaimer**: I do not hold the rights to Naruto, its characters, its storyline, or even the site I'm using as an archive. I'm poor. Please don't hurt me.  
**Spoilers**: At least a little past the Chuunin Exam.

**Kunoichi: Wisdom**  
∙∙∙_Because I Am Weak_∙∙∙

▫▫▫

The small village burned. Smoke rose almost lazily from the houses, ignorant of the devastation left behind.

The plan had not included a raging inferno. Very few things that happened, in fact, had been in the plan. The absolute carnage and slaughter of every living soul - yes. That had been necessary, as well as something that was... wanted. The knowledge that so much blood ran freely, soaked into the ground, stained one's hands - it was craved. And that, at least, had occurred well.

But the flames, the strength of the resistance, the fact that _it_ had disappeared...

The first thought was that it had been lost in the fire. But that couldn't be - it could not be destroyed so easily. Which meant that someone had used the flames as a distraction, knowing that source of it would not be ascertained for a significant time. Fire was natural in an attack. One lamp fallen could create a chaos.

Finding this little mouse would be hard. There was no idea who or _what_ it was. And, somehow, it had slipped past without being sensed. Someone so high in power that they could have shielded their presence, perhaps - or it could be something without much to sense at all, in the midst of all the terror and battle aura that had been present during the attack...

▫▫▫

_"Sakura!" _

_She turned sharply, eyes wide with dreadful fear. Though she had trained for years - though she had gone through everything she could to qualify for the Chuunin exam - though she had shared in her part of missions - she could not do anything. _

_Her terror for her parents, for the village, for the dreadful intensity behind the attack, kept her rooted to the ground. _

_"Sakura, listen to me!" _

_The voice seemed oddly far off, though the cherished face was so close to hers. "Sakura!" _

_"Mama...?" She raised her hand helplessly. "Why... Why here?" she whispered. "They were only villagers..." _

_"Sakura!" The older woman stepped forward, slapping her daughter's face harshly. "You're a ninja, aren't you? Then why are you standing there like that!" _

Ninja..._ Her eyes widened further, and she cringed as the words stabbed her far more harshly than the blow. _

_Why, indeed, could she not move? Why, indeed, was her entire body paralyzed by some nameless terror? She stared at her mother, shaking with the bitter reality of the moment. Innocents were dying. Innocents were_ dead._ And all for something they didn't realize existed. _

_All for something she and her parents were supposed to protect. _

_She clenched her hands into fists, shaking back the terror that had overtaken her. She had qualified to be tested as a Chuunin. She had made it to the preliminary matches. She had a mission to fulfill. _

_"Good." Her mother shoved a scroll into her hands, eyes dark with purpose. "You need to return to Konoha. Speak to no one but the Hokage, and tell her what has happened. Also remember this: 'Concentrating on a hunter narrows focus'." _

_Sakura nodded tightly. "I understand." _

_"Then go."_

That had been three days ago.

Three days of running, blindly, pushing her endurance to its limits.

The last time she had worked her body so hard had been during the exam - four years ago. Had it really been four years since her family had disappeared from Konoha, after Orochimaru's attack?

Of course, _then_, she had known what they were running from and why. But now she was running blindly, without giving the situation much thought at all. What, exactly, _had_ happened? Why? Who were involved? Who and what was the target?

She didn't know. All the answers hadn't been as important as getting away with the scroll intact.

But now, Sakura silently cursed herself. If she only knew, she would be able to answer the questions of the man standing before her. Maybe she would even be able to answer his most pertinent one.

_"If you are Haruno Sakura, why are you alive? She died four years ago."_

Dead? How could she be dead? Why would he believe that, and who would _say_ that?

Those cold, indifferent eyes watched her as she struggled for an answer. They saw everything - from her testing the ropes that tied her to the pain and confusion flickering across her face. The Hyuuga Byakugan was a formidable opponent, being able to catalogue the slightest degree of change in expressions.

"I don't know," she finally answered flatly, refusing to let her shoulders fall. She would not act like someone defeated. She would stand proudly, because _she_ was not in the wrong.

"Of course not." He didn't seem to react to her words, though she knew he still did not believe her. No matter that she looked the same, only four years older.

"Neji-san," she tried again, "I _am_ Haruno Sakura. And I need to speak with the Fifth immediately!"

"And what is your business with our Hokage?" He spoke flatly, as though completely dismissing her words.

Jade eyes flashed with irritation and frustration. She didn't know that his own mind was rapidly facts together; didn't know that he knew she wasn't lying. "That..." she attempted to keep her tone peaceable, "is something I cannot say." _And I know you, doesn't that count for something? You never told me your name when you captured me!_ After all, who would give a self-introduction to a captive?

"I cannot allow an unidentified shinobi into the presence of our Hokage." Apparently it didn't count. At all.

Her left eyebrow began to twitch with the force of her anger and her rising desperation. She _had_ to speak with Tsunade. "Kakashi-sensei will recognize who I am," Sakura said coldly, wishing she was out of the bonds just to slap that impassive face. Even if he was stronger than she. "If I am brought to him, and he agrees that I am Haruno Sakura, and I am _not_ dead, will that be enough?"

"Perhaps." Neji inclined his head slightly. "But Kakashi is out on a mission, and you are here, a half-day's journey from Konoha."

Oh, she wanted to shake some sense into him. It was urgent! She had a message for the Fifth, and no time to waste bickering with someone who didn't even recognize her. Though they had never been close - not even holding a single conversation together - a wielder of Byakugan should recognize her, even years after their last meeting.

Why couldn't Sasuke, or even Naruto, have been the one to find her on patrol?

"I _need_ to speak to the Fifth," she continued stubbornly, meeting his gaze squarely. Most flinched before the power of Hyuuga's sight, but she had nothing to hide.

He ignored her and her challenging stare, reaching over to grab her arm and pull her up roughly. "Let's go," he commanded.

"Where?" Unwilling to believe he had suddenly acquiesced to her demands - especially as he made no move to cut her bonds - she balked.

"Move," he ordered, jerking her along. Wincing and biting back a curse, she followed.

▫▫▫

He was good.

She had to admit that, however grudging her appreciation and annoying her situation. Carefully shifting to a sitting position, Sakura leaned her head back against the wall, trying to temper the pounding ache in her head. Though she had realized he was keeping her prisoner in this small safe house, she hadn't expected him to make sure she would be asleep for a while.

Her neck hurt.

Rotating it, she took stock of the one-room building. It didn't take her long to decide her best chance of escape was the tiny window near the ceiling, and that there was definitely a guard on the other side of the locked door. She grimaced faintly at the layer of dirt over everything; a bath would definitely be in order once her duties were over.

Sakura's eyes followed the chain binding her feet, resting finally on the pole on the far side of the room. The heavy iron was linked to it, something that gave her a slight surge of hope. She might be able to twist a link enough to slip the chain off the pole.

Maybe.

Her physical strength wasn't quite up to it, but she could try. And while doing so, perhaps she could come up with another solution.

▫▫▫

Neji stood patiently, stifling faint annoyance as Gai sat dramatically on a boulder, gesturing Tenten to halt her practice.

"Haruno Sakura, hmm?" He stretched his legs thoughtfully. "Kakashi's student died several years ago."

"I am well aware," his student replied flatly.

Used to Neji's hostility, the older man rubbed his chin. "Lee was quite distressed with the news, as I recall."

"He still is."

"Yes," Gai agreed absently. Lee had never recovered from the knowledge that he had failed protecting someone he cared about. It was still evident in his renewed vigor and training, especially after the surgery by Tsunade three years ago. And he wasn't as carefree as he had once been.

"So, she claims to be little Sakura."

Neji fought irritation at the repeated sentiment. He nodded shortly. "And wishes to speak with the Hokage."

"The Fifth has been busy lately. All right." He jumped to his feet energetically, grinning at his student. They were Chuunin, all of them, and he was proud. Of course, even Chuunin needed guidance. "Take me to this 'Sakura', then!"

▫▫▫

Her fingers hurt. She flinched as they slipped, failing _again_ in the adjustment of the link. "Come on," she whispered softly, trembling slightly as she reached for the cold iron. How long had it been? Thankfully she had made little noise; the guard didn't seem to realize she was awake.

That was good. Very good, with her plan in mind for him. If he didn't realize the danger, then he would be far more susceptible.

Kakashi-sensei had taught her that, a long time ago.

Carefully willing chakra to her fingertips, the young ninja made certain she would not lose her grip this time. Forcefully, she pulled at one side and pushed at the other, grimly hoping the gap in the link would increase. She wasn't able to simply break it, as perhaps Naruto or Sasuke could. She also couldn't get around it; her ability to pick locks was decent, but not when the entire thing was rusted over.

A soft puff of breath escaped as she strained, feeling her muscles tense to the point of pain. "Come on," she panted, eyes narrowing.

There! Did it give, just the slightest bit?

Buoyed by her apparent success, she bore down with more pressure. A small part of her mind thanked Neji for his apparent forgetfulness in binding her hands, though it made little sense that he would be so careless. Perhaps he had thought she would be unconscious longer.

There! It moved again. A triumphant smile played across her lips as it became a little easier, and the gap widened to the point of being able to slip one of the rings from the other, freeing her from the pole.

_All right,_ she thought, pushing to her feet and shaking her hands violently. _Now for the guard._

Knowing he would sense her if she came too close to the door, she knelt where she was, pressing her palms together and silently gathering her chakra. _Fall for this,_ she pled, before releasing it all into a familiar pattern.

A soft thud soon assured her of success – one far easier than she had expected.

"Genin?" she wondered, even as she now gathered gentle power to her feet. Walking up walls was a simple exercise, one she had practiced often during quieter moments. It soothed her, surprisingly enough.

Once at the window, she began to push it open, grunting softly at the amount of energy required to do so. It was rusted shut, something she hadn't realized earlier. _But if it won't open..._

Tearing a strip from her simple shirt, she bound the white cotton around her hand before slamming it against the glass. It shattered on contact, some shards finding its way through the fabric into her skin. Ignoring the pain, she began systematically clearing off the sides. The window was small enough; several jagged edges would only make it harder.

Ignoring the crimson spreading over the cloth, she began to wriggle out the window. _Don't think about the pain. Don't worry about sleep._

She was close to Tsunade now.

▫▫▫

It was perhaps unfair of him to blame his teacher's slow start – but Neji did anyway, fighting the urge to snarl at the student he had placed on watch over the girl.

"Sakura..." the man mused, glancing up at the broken window. "She never had this much guts under Kakashi's training."

"So, you are certain she is who she claims to be?" Neji asked carefully, finding his antagonism – or, more truthfully, anger at being given the slip by a girl half his size and at least half his training – fading in the face of this small fact.

"Aren't you?" Gai smiled faintly, knowing the consternation the boy was trying to hide. It was evident in the stiffened stance, the stone façade. "You wouldn't have bothered with this, if you weren't. So what is your real concern?"

He frowned, but silently acknowledged the truth of Gai's words. "Is she a threat to Konoha? Returning from the dead, never attempting contact for years – insisting on speaking with Tsunade, who was not installed as the Fifth until long after her disappearance – such things are suspicious, and do not bode well for her story."

"True." Gai nodded sharply to the genin, who looked startled at the sudden attention. "And to escape from such a place – and put her guard to sleep – makes it only seem worse. We'll set up an alarm, then." Time had passed quickly – too quickly – if this was an emergency. "Contact patrol with her description and orders to detain her. I will advise the Fifth on the situation."

Neji nodded and motioned for the genin to follow Gai toward the village, wasting no time dashing from the clearing.

_Sakura, I can only hope we're wrong about you._ Gai had never been close to Kakashi's pupils, and could barely remember that slight girl. He had learned more about her after the attack so long ago, far more than he had ever known when she had been growing up beneath his nose.

Was her loyalty to Konoha still strong, after all this time?

Was she a danger?

Or was she bringing word of a danger far worse?

▫▫▫

Although she had escaped her prison, Sakura realized quickly that her options were limited.

She was running on time she no longer had, on endurance wasting quickly. Her breath came fast and hard, her vision wavering as she dashed through the trees, moving further into familiar territory.

With her escape, she was now branded a danger. The patrol would, no doubt, be notified. Her entry into the village would be impeded.

Was it easier, then, to be captured and try to convince them of her story?

_Even Neji ignored my pleas,_ she thought grimly, landing on a particularly thick branch and pausing for breath. Air was sharp in her lungs, stabbing at her as she inhaled.

It was dangerous to keep going, but the scroll weighed heavily against her side, bound tightly beneath her vest. It burned, reminding her of her promise.

And again she wondered why she had been entrusted with such an important thing, only to realize – with sudden clarity – that it was a simple enough answer.

_Concentrating on a hunter narrows focus._ And concentrating on prey did as well.

No one would notice a little mouse scurrying from the shadows, when a lame rabbit was cornered.

Sakura placed her hand against her side, feeling the hard shape of the scroll, fighting the tears that came to her eyes. It hurt to realize so clearly, so fully, that her parents had died giving her the chance to flee.

It hurt to realize that this chance – the one that had saved her life, had given her this mission, had put her where she was now, had taken her parents from her – had been given because of one simple reason.

Because she was weak. Too weak to be noticed, too weak for a threat.

_I won't stay like this,_ she vowed, flexing her legs, ready for another run.

_I will become stronger._

It was the only way she could face her mother's memory.


End file.
